Around Campus

Campaign launch nears

By Dan Dundon

When John Delaney became UNF’s fifth president in 2003, one of his first priorities was to refocus the University’s vision for the next decade. Through lengthy consultations with faculty, staff, students, the Board of Trustees and the UNF Foundation Board, the University developed a new mission statement emphasizing UNF’s role in fostering the intellectual and cultural growth and civic awareness of its students.

In essence, UNF became committed to offering exceptional educational opportunities to its students. In subsequent years, this vision has become reality through the establishment of Transformational Learning Opportunities (TLOs). These have taken the form of study-abroad experiences, internships, fieldwork, co-ops, service learning, undergraduate research projects and more. A related commitment to community-based transformational learning adds relevance to the UNF experience by applying these student opportunities to projects aimed at meeting community needs and solving social problems. In a step to further enhance these academic experiences, the University established flagship programs whereby UNF invests in faculty and infrastructure to produce nationally recognized courses of study.

All of these innovations require resources. Dr. Pierre Allaire, vice president for Institutional Advancement, said the first step was to identify ways in which private support could best support the new vision and priorities of the University soon after Delaney’s inaugural address in February 2004. “We decided on a multi-pronged approach in which we would rely on state resources to fund new buildings, enrollment growth to fund new programs and private support to enhance academic quality,” Allaire said.

Allaire noted the enhancements can take many forms such as new professorships and fellowships to recruit and retain the best and brightest faculty members and graduate students, or new scholarships to ease the financial challenge for students, allowing them to concentrate on their studies.

Dr. Mark Workman, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, said private support is crucial to enhancing academic programs, especially for such things as TLOs. “It has become clear to me our ability to offer a high quality academic experience for our students depends heavily on generous donors who have established endowments that allow us to offer transformational educational opportunities,” he said.

This commitment to making students UNF’s top priority led to the decision to launch a major capital campaign this year. That campaign, which will publicly kick off Oct. 2, will be co-chaired by W. Radford Lovett and Russell B. Newton, two Jacksonville business executives with a long history of involvement at UNF.

“When we began planning this campaign three years ago, the economy was obviously a lot better than it is today,” Lovett said. “As we neared the official kickoff, we talked to many people in the community about whether we should delay or cancel the campaign. It became obvious to us that we really had no choice but to continue with our plans. With declining state support and the impact of the recession on the families of our students, the case to support UNF has never been stronger,” he said.

Similarly, Newton acknowledged economic conditions would play a factor in the campaign. “Certainly, the economic times are going to slow or delay the gifts, but it will not eliminate them,” he added. “We are getting very positive response from the people with whom we are talking. They tell us they love the story; they love the mission; they love what’s going on at UNF. The need is greatest when the economic times are weakest.”

The Power of Transformation Campaign will build on the success of the University’s previous campaign, Access to Excellence. That campaign, from 1997 to 2003, set out to raise $65 million for the University. The campaign eventually raised more than $100 million from 11,000 donors, including 25 gifts of $1 million or more. Among other accomplishments, the successful campaign created more than 180 new scholarships for UNF students.

Allaire said the bottom line for the new campaign is the same as the first campaign – helping to transform the lives of students. “Every transformational experience we provide to a UNF student brings us a step closer to our goal of transforming our community. There has never been a more important time to illustrate The Power of Transformation.”

What: Kickoff for The Power of Transformation Campaign for the University of North FloridaWhen: Oct. 2, 6:30 p.m.Where: Reception: Boathouse – Student Union; Dinner: UNF ArenaFaculty and Staff Special Cost: $75 per person

To purchase tickets, contact the Ticket Box Office at ext. 2878. For more information, call Sarah Dufresne at ext. 2100.

Around Campus

A Healthy Osprey is a happy Osprey

By Tom Cain

To slightly paraphrase an old proverb: The road to health is paved with good intentions. Healthy Osprey is transforming those good intentions into body, mind and spiritual realities for the University community.

Healthy Osprey is a campus-wide health initiative introduced to UNF in 2008 by President John Delaney after reviewing a report about a national program called Healthy Campus 2010. Healthy Osprey evolved from Healthy Campus 2010. The primary goals of Healthy Campus 2010 are to increase the quality and longevity of life and eliminate health disparities or barriers keeping people from achieving optimal health.

Sometimes, interpreting mission statements is like trying to nail jello to the wall – nearly impossible. The mission statement for Healthy Osprey is pretty clear-cut: “Healthy Osprey is a collaboration of students, faculty and staff working together to foster a University community that embraces the development of a healthy mind, body and spirit. The purpose of Healthy Osprey is to assess and respond to the needs of the UNF community to create and maintain a healthy environment which will enhance the holistic student experience.”

While maintaining good physical health is important, Healthy Osprey is about more than working out to achieve bulging biceps and ironing-board-flat tummies. Holistic health emphasizes the connection or balance among physical, mental and spiritual health. It focuses on how they are interconnected and critical to good health and a healthy lifestyle.

“People often think of health in terms of fitness and nutrition,” said Shelly Purser, co-chair of Healthy Osprey and director of the Department of Health Promotion. “Although these components are vital to good health, you must also include mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental and sexual health into the equation.”

There are several ongoing campus programs and a newly re-designed program related to Healthy Osprey. “The [Healthy Osprey] initiative has been well-received by the campus community,” said Dr. Pam Chally, Healthy Osprey co-chair and dean of the Brooks College of Health. “Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with participants indicating an increase in their health-related knowledge and associated health behaviors.” Chally then included the words of an ancient Greek physician to emphasize the value of living a healthy lifestyle: “When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless and intelligence cannot be applied.” She immediately added, “He got it right.”

The Healthy Osprey program Ospreys on the Move combines all three components of the Healthy Osprey initiative: body, mind and spirit. The eight-week program, designed in part to reduce stress, consists of weekly nutrition sessions with counseling center staff and weekly informational sessions on eating habits, portion control, weight management and other related topics. The program’s ultimate goal is for each participant to walk more than 10,000 steps daily and also maintain a healthy diet. More than 175 participants completed the inaugural eight-week program.

Several staff members completed a Healthy Osprey program called Anger Management Intervention Services. The course enabled the Department of Health Promotion to provide services to students advised to seek anger-management assistance by the Conduct Office or Residence Life.

This fall, tobacco-cessation support groups will be available for students, faculty and staff free of charge. The groups, which focus on peer bonding and social support, last six to eight weeks and feature individualized plans to help participants stop smoking. They were initially offered this summer, but will have a new, revised curriculum for the program this fall.

In June, due in large part to the Healthy Osprey initiative, UNF received the American Heart Association Gold Level Award for being a “Fit Friendly Company” and the city of Jacksonville’s Bronze Level Worksite Award for being among Jacksonville’s healthiest 100 companies. Creating a culture that promotes and embraces holistic health was one of the major criteria for the American Heart Association Award. UNF this fall will have a Healthy Osprey team in the American Heart Walk. Also, Health Promotion will continue to have blood drives on campus.

Purser said UNF’s controlled burning, recycling and construction of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings are examples of the environmental health of the University. The Crisis Management Team is an example of the mental-health aspect of the University. The Health Osprey program builds on these previously established programs.

“We care about our students, staff and faculty,” Chally said. “Health is critical to overall well-being. If you have your health, you can have everything. If you don’t, not much matters. We want to improve health for everyone on our campus. This initiative [Healthy Osprey] will help students, faculty and staff to achieve and maintain optimal holistic health.”

Everett Malcolm, Healthy Osprey Steering Committee member and associate vice president for Student Affairs, sees the mind component of Healthy Osprey, which incorporates mental and emotional health, stress management and academic health, as being vital to student retention and graduation rates. “The concepts associated with the Healthy Osprey initiative can be woven into both student and employee recruitment literature,” Malcolm said. “Creating an environment that supports and encourages optimal health can play a vital role in recruiting and retaining the highest quality students, faculty and staff.”

Malcolm said the recent Healthy Osprey Free and Fun program targeted the nearly 1,200 first-time-in-college students who attended UNF during the Summer B session. The focus of the program, a collaboration among several campus entities, is to introduce new students to the healthy options available on campus and to help them make healthy choices.

“The University is a small facet of our local and global communities,” Purser said, summing up the importance of Healthy Osprey to the UNF campus community. “Addressing health disparities and helping the University community to achieve and maintain optimal holistic health establishes the foundation to foster the same transformational learning opportunity within the community at large. Maintaining a healthy balance in all of these areas [body, mind and spirit] helps participants live a healthier and happier life.”

Around Campus

MOCA Presents UNF Art and Design Faculty Showcase

By Carl Holman

An upcoming exhibition at The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, a cultural resource of the University of North Florida, illustrates the rich educational possibilities UNF offers to students and the public within its new downtown presence.

“The Art of Teaching: UNF Art & Design Faculty Showcase” presents an array of compelling art by leading art educators working in a wide range of media, including painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, time-based work and site specific installations. This exhibition will run concurrently from Sept. 18 to Jan. 3 with an exhibit dedicated to Robert Motherwell, a pre-eminent American abstract expressionist.

UNF faculty, staff and students who are not currently members of MOCA can attend the museum’s members preview party for the above exhibitions from 7 to 9 p.m. Sept. 17 for $10, a savings of 66 percent off the $30 regular, non-member guest price. The party will include hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar, live music and contemporary art from UNF’s own faculty artists.

The following UNF art and design faculty will be displaying their work in the exhibition:

“Many people recognize our faculty is composed of outstanding art educators, but they may have never had the opportunity to see for themselves what an incredibly talented artist each is,” said Murphy, chair of the Department of Art and Design. “Our professors have exhibited and presented in Europe, Asia, Central America and throughout the United States, but it is particularly special when they exhibit here in Jacksonville.”

The art and design faculty will also present a series of 12 free lectures throughout both exhibitions. Topics will include historical predecessors of Motherwell, the meaning of his work and relevancy to today’s printmaking, as well as stories from participating artists in the Faculty Showcase about their inspirations and working processes. Printmaking professor John Hutcheson’s Sept. 24 lecture bridges both exhibitions, providing a gallery walk-through of the Motherwell retrospective and sharing his personal experiences of working with him.

Located at 333 N. Laura St. in the heart of downtown Jacksonville, MOCA’s historic facility boasts nearly 15,000 square feet of galleries, classrooms and studios dedicated to educating the public about art. Starting this fall, a second-floor gallery will be used to highlight the visual arts at UNF, with the first exhibit to be dedicated to the works of former and current sculpting students.

The Art and Design Department began offering classes at the museum earlier this year, and students have been thrilled to learn their craft in a venue that may one day exhibit their art. “This gives our art students the opportunity to display their work amid some of the most celebrated contemporary artists in an amazing setting,” Murphy said. “It typifies the kind of community-based transformational learning available at UNF.”

One person who has already seen the incredible educational advantages of having the new museum is Irene Baker, a senior studying drawing and painting. She took one of the first UNF classes offered at MOCA last spring, drawing a variety of downtown architectural features on historic buildings for the class.

“Being on campus limits you to drawing still life and models, but being downtown, especially at MOCA, has opened up my ability to draw some really amazing buildings, faces with really distinct character, and everyday street scenes,” she said. “It is intellectually stimulating, and it really puts me more in touch with what it will be like as a working artist.”

Prior to the spring class, Baker had never set foot inside the museum, but she became so enamored with being there she interned as an art educator during the summer. What she appreciates most is how much effort goes into helping museum visitors understand contemporary art and its place in today’s world.

“Contemporary art is not pretentious or inaccessible,” Baker said. “It can be challenging at first for people used to classical and traditional art, but this is art that is fresh, vibrant and culturally relevant for today’s audiences.”

Around Campus

Belizean delegation learns ‘good business practices’

By Tom Cain

The longstanding relationship between UNF and the Central American country of Belize continues to flourish after a recent visit by officials from the University of Belize.

The Belize delegation - Dr. Cynthia Thompson, assistant provost; Yura Monsanto, human services director; and Harry Lui, acting chief financial officer - visited campus for four days in early July, accomplishing a lot in a short time. Ellery Griffis, UNF’s associate controller and ombudsman for the Controller’s Office, Dr. Larry Daniel, dean of the College of Education and Human Services, and John Kemppainen, director of the Office of Academic Advising in the College of Education and Human Services, co-hosted the visit.

The visit resulted from a trip Griffis took to Belize in March to help the University of Belize develop stronger business practices to satisfy the requirements of an impending accreditation. Santos Mahung, president of the University of Belize, wanted to take it one step further and send a delegation from his university to visit UNF, observe how things are done here and take what they learned back to Belize.

“I think it’s important for us to assist our neighbors where we can,” Griffis said. “It’s a win-win situation for both UNF and UB [University of Belize]. If we want to expand our multicultural diversity here at UNF and expand our international markets and education, we need to assist and support our Latin American neighbors if we can.”

Griffis, Daniel and Kemppainen took the delegation to meetings at Enrollment Services, Internal Auditing, Purchasing, Accounts Payable, Financial Services, One-Stop Student Services, Human Resources, Auxiliary Services, the Bookstore, Brooks College of Health and the College of Education and Human Services, as well as other departments and offices.

“We covered many topics, and I believe gave them a lot of information to take back and ponder,” said Kemppainen, who has been to Belize more than 20 times, often working on student-exchange and internship programs. “I personally believe that this type of international institutional cooperation and exchanges are very important both for UNF as we become more international in our mission and for our partners in Belize who have worked with us for so many years.”

Briefs

Hispanic Heritage Month features lecture by noted CSX executive

Oscar Munoz, executive vice president and chief financial officer of the CSX Corp., is the guest lecturer for an Intercultural Center for PEACE presentation to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month. Munoz’s lecture, titled “Know Thyself,” will begin at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, in the Student Union, Building 58W, Room 2704.

Munoz is responsible for the management and oversight of all financial, strategic planning, information technology, procurement and real estate activities at CSX. As a member of the corporation’s executive team, Munoz has helped CSX become an increasingly profitable leader in rail freight and logistics services.

Munoz has years of experience in a variety of industries. Before joining CSX in 2003, he was chief financial officer and vice president of AT&T Consumer Services, and held numerous positions of increasing responsibility at Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola. Munoz earned his B.S. degree from the University of Southern California and his M.B.A. from Pepperdine University.

He is a member of the board of directors of Continental Airlines, where he chairs the Audit Committee. Munoz is also a member of the board of directors of the nonprofit organization Outward Bound and a member of the Audit Committee Leadership Network. He has twice been recognized - in 2001 and 2006 - as one of the 100 most influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business magazine. For more information, contact Chris Bender at ext. 2842.

Get to Know

L. R. “Bob” Jacob

Tell us something about you that even your friends don’t know.I guess the one thing my friends may not know about me is that I was almost court-martialed while in Morocco. I was drinking French wine and eating cheese sandwiches on “Miami Beach” in Casablanca and fell asleep. When I awoke, I was badly burned and blistered. The U. S. Air Force said as a G. I. (Government Issue), I had damaged government property. They later felt sorry and did not proceed.

What are you most passionate about?I think that at this point in my life and career, I can say that I am most passionate about law enforcement training and highway safety. With the traffic fatality numbers in 2008 at 37,400, their lowest since 1961, we are still killing far too many people on our nation’s highways, and throughout this country highway safety is not a priority.

We still refer to traffic crashes as accidents. Since they are caused and do not just happen, they are not accidents. We still refer to the national alcohol impaired presumptive level (.08) as the legal limit and it should be referred to as the illegal limit. We have lots of work to do.

Second to highway safety, I guess I am one of very few African- Americans who are very passionate about NASCAR racing. I have a 1990 Chevy Silverado pickup with#88 and #3 on the back. They are [for] Dale Earnhart Jr. and his late father, Dale Sr., respectively.

What is the best thing you ever won?The best thing that I have ever won was the J. Stannard Baker Award. I was presented the award in November 2008 at the annual International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) in San Diego. The prestigious J. Stannard Baker Award annually recognizes individual lifetime contributions to highway safety.

Law enforcement officers of state, county, metropolitan or municipal agencies, as well as other private or public sector representatives, are selected by the Highway Safety Committee for their sustained, continuous, career-spanning, and unusual initiative and creativity in developing and implementing highway safety programs within the communities they serve. The award is presented by the IACP, in collaboration with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Northwestern University’s Center for Public Safety.

What was the best money you ever spent?The best money that I ever spent was on a 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS Super Sport. I paid $3,700 for this, my first new vehicle that I bought when I got out of the Air Force. This vehicle was a “real” muscle car that came standard with a 396 CI Engine – 325 HP and a four-speed Muncie transmission. What a stock vehicle. Sadly, when I started to work for the Virginia State Police, I was told very bluntly that this vehicle was “not in keeping with the image of the VSP.” I later sold it to a gentleman in Richmond for $1,000. I see them being sold and auctioned for upwards of $50,000.

Tell us about your family.I have been married to Annette M. Jacob for 39-1/2 years. We have three children, Armond, 37, Courtney, 35, and Samantha, 32. These three children brought me nine lovely grandchildren ranging in age from 8-1/2 months to 17 years of age.

I was born in a small town on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and moved with my family to Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1955. What a change for a little black kid who was born and lived in segregated Virginia moving to Brooklyn, N.Y. I graduated from Brooklyn High School of Automotive Trades in 1962 and joined the U. S. Air Force. My four years in the Air Force took me to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas for basic training and Amarillo, Texas, for tech school. My first duty assignment was a base in North Africa in Morocco for nine months. We were about 17 miles outside of Casablanca. From there I was assigned to Bitburg Air Force Base in Germany for 27 months and finally back to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

I returned to Brooklyn, where I went to work for United Parcel Service. I worked there for two years, 1966 – 1968, and they went on strike. I then tested for the New York City Transit Authority for a surface line operators posting (bus driver). I was hired and drove some of Jackie Gleason’s (Ralph Kramden in “The Honeymooners”) routes: Flatbush Avenue, Nostramd Avenue, Ocean Avenue and Utica Avenue and Kings Highway. What a cool job until the city crime rate climbed to robbing bus drivers and passengers. I resigned and moved my wife of two years and my 11-month old son back to Virginia in 1972.

What person had the greatest impact on your life?I think my father had the greatest impact on my life by instilling a positive work ethic and commitment to duty and self-improvement. My father passed away on Oct. 8, 2008 at 99 years of age. Dad’s birthday was Jan. 20, 1909. Just think, he would have been 100 years old on Jan. 20, 2009, the day we swore in our 43rd and first black president of the United States.

What is your favorite way to blow an hour?My favorite way to blow an hour is drinking a cold Heineken in my garage after completing my yard duties. I travel so much that just relaxing in my garage and observing activities in my cul-de-sac is something I enjoy.

If you were not working at UNF, what would you be doing?If I were not working at IPTM/UNF, I would probably be planning to retire from the Virginia State Police. When I moved back to Virginia in 1972, I tested and was accepted to the VSP. I joined the VSP in November 1973 and resigned as a sergeant in 1983 to begin my employment with IPTM/UNF January 1984. As an internationally recognized police training institute, we are a resource that allows UNF opportunities that other universities do not enjoy. We have enjoyed this relationship for 29 years.

If you could choose any other career, what would it be and why?If I could choose another career, I would probably become an automobile mechanic. I know the automotive industry has become quite technical since the 1960s, but the principles of the gasoline and diesel engines are still the same. That would be intake, compressor, power and exhaust. I would have to do some retraining, but I think it would be fun.

With my background in mechanics and gas engines, I always thought it would be fun to own a small engine repair shop when I retire. This would have to take a back seat to a continuing effort to reduce highway crashes, fatalities and injuries. I would continue to consult and participate with various highway safety organizations.

What was the last book you read? The last book that I read was “Terror at Beslan” by John Giduck. This was the tragedy at opening day of a school in the Soviet Union. It was written as a warning to the United States.

Dr. Chiu Choi, School of Engineering, won a gold and a silver medal in the 2009 Amateur Athletic Union U.S.A. National Taekwondo Championships June 29 - July 4. (photo)

Sandie Loach, College of Education and Human Services, Academic Advising, has a new granddaughter. Her daughter, UNF alum Kim Hurley, gave birth July 27 to Vivien June, who weighed in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces. She is Loach’s fourth grandchild.

Faculty & Staff

Brooks College of Heath

Clinical and Applied Movement Sciences: Dr. Peter Magyari attended the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s 32nd Annual National Conference in Las Vegas, where he presented his research titled “Upper Body Muscular Endurance among Active Duty Firefighters.” Collaborators on this research were UNF physical therapy graduate students Jessica May and Tom Fonger.

Dr. James Churilla spoke on “Physical Activity, Fitness and Metabolic Syndrome” at the Florida Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation conference in Orlando last month.

Dr. Rose Marie Rine published an article titled “Growing Evidence for Balance and Vestibular Problems in Children” in the August issue of Audiological Medicine.

Nursing: Drs. Barbara J. Kruger and Doreen Radjenovic, along with Judy Comeaux, Kiran Macha and community pediatrician Dr. Karen H. Toker, published “School Nursing for Children with Special Needs: Does Number of Schools Make a Difference?” in the August issue of the Journal of School Health.

Dr. Carol A. Ledbetter was elected to a second three-year term (2010–13) on the Board of Commissioners for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), an autonomous accrediting agency that contributes to the improvement of public health. CCNE ensures the quality and integrity of education programs that prepare students for nursing. As a voluntary, self-regulatory process, CCNE accreditation supports and encourages continuing self-assessment by nursing education programs and supports continuing growth and improvement of collegiate professional education. The Brooks College of Health School of Nursing programs are accredited by CCNE. The School of Nursing will host a CCNE accreditation visit in 2010.

Debra Wagner and Mary Bear published “A Concept Analysis of Patient Satisfaction with Nursing Care within a Nursing Framework” in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, Vol. 65, March 2009.

Coggin College of Business

No submissions this month

College of Arts and Sciences

History: Dr. Charles Closmann

published an edited collection titled “War and the Environment: Military Destruction in the Modern Age” (Texas A&M University Press, 2009) in July.

Physics: Dr. Barry Albright was co-author of a paper (with L.E. Zanno, D.D. Gillette and A.L. Titus) titled “A New North American Therizinosaurid and the Role of Herbivory in ‘Predatory’ Dinosaur Evolution,” which was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, in July.

Dr. Jane MacGibbon gave an invited talk titled "Can a Chromosphere be Formed in Black Hole Decays?" (co-authored by B.J. Carr and Don N. Page) at the invitation-only conference "Extra Dimensions and Mini Black Holes" in Heidelberg, Germany, in July. She also presented "Sensitivity of the Fermi Detectors to Gamma-Ray Bursts from Evaporating Primordial Black Holes (PBHs)" (co-authored by T. N. Ukwatta, W. C. Parke, K. S. Dhuga, A. Eskandarian, N. Gehrels, L. Maximon, D. C. Morris and Stephen Rhodes) and "Generalized Second Law Limits on the Variation of Fundamental Constants" at the Twelfth Marcel Grossman Meeting, a major international meeting on general relativity and astrophysics, in Paris, France, in July.

Dr. Nirmal Patel’s paper, “Potentiometric Biosensor for Urea Determination in Milk” has been published in Sensors and Actuators, Vol. 140, Issue 1, June 2009.

Sociology and Anthropology: Dr. Krista Paulsen published "Ethnography of the Ephemeral: Studying Temporary Scenes through Individual and Collective Approaches" in the journal Social Identities.

Dr. Jenny Stuber published “Gender Expectations and Online Evaluations of Teaching: Evidence from RateMyProfessors.com” in Teaching in Higher Education, Vol. 14, August 2009.

College of Computing, Engineering and Construction

Computing: Drs. Ken Martin

and Judy Solano participated in the ABET Computing Accreditation Commission (CAC) meeting July 16-18. ABET was formerly the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Martin and Solano both serve as team chairs for CAC accreditation visits to computer science programs.

Dr. Charles Winton participated in the July meeting of Global Conference on Educational Robotics sponsored by The KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) Institute for Practical Robotics. Winton serves as chairman of the board of directors of the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics.

Construction Management: Dr. Carol Woodson passed the examination to become an Accredited Professional, New Construction and Major Renovations, under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

Engineering: Dr. Dean Krusienski published (with co-author J.R. Wolpaw) “Brain-Computer Interface Research at the Wadsworth Center: Developments in Noninvasive Communication and Control”; Book Chapter 11, Brain Machine Interfaces for Space Applications: Enhancing Astronauts’ Capabilities, in the “International Review of Neurobiology” edited by Rossini, Summerer and Izzo and published by Elsevier, 2009. He also published (with G.D. Johnson) “Ensemble SWLDA Classifiers for the P300 Speller” in the Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, which took place in San Diego in July.

Dr. Adel ElSafty presented two seminars in July at the Haskell Company: “The Design of New Concrete Structures Reinforced with Fiber Reinforcement Polymer (FRP) Bars” and “The Design of FRP Strengthening for Reinforced Concrete Structures with FRP Sheets and Laminates.” Also, one of ElSafty’s undergraduate engineering student teams won second place (another UNF team finished 10th) regionally out of the 10 participating teams in the Big-Beam Competition, beating out teams from UF, Tennessee, FIU and South Carolina.

Dr. Steve Nix was recognized for his contributions in civil engineering and education, being named "Engineer of the Year, 2009" at the Northeast Florida Engineers Week Banquet in February at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine. He also received the Jim H. Miller Award for outstanding performance and professionalism in the water environment industry from the Florida Water Environment Federation in May; and "Professor of the Year, Civil Engineering, 2008-09" at the UNF School of Engineering Senior Dinner in April.

College of Education and Human Services

Childhood Education: Dr. Gigi M. David

recently participated as a workshop leader for the Young Authors Workshop. Visit jacksonville.com for more information. David will be participating in the 2009 Florida Heritage Book Festival in St. Augustine in September. This literary event will showcase Florida's unique culture and heritage by honoring authors who write about or live in Florida. On Friday, Sept. 11, David along with other Florida authors will visit local schools for a presentation and book signing.

Dr. Katie Monnin has done a lot of work this summer for Toon Books, publishing alignments of their early reader comic texts to the national English Language Arts standards. Learn more.

Dr. Christine Weber presented a workshop titled “Issues and Dilemmas: The Move of Two States Toward Curriculum Reform” and a paper developed with Dr. Laurel Stanley on “Designing Effective Workshops for Educating Parents of Gifted Children” at the 18th World Conference on Gifted and Talented Children Aug. 3-7 in Vancouver.

Dr. Lunetta Williams co-authored an article with Dr. Katrina Hall titled “Exploring Students’ Reading Attitudes” that was recently accepted by the Journal of Reading Education. Hall, Wanda Hedrick, and Williams, along with honors student Jennifer Abendroth, were accepted to present “The Development of an Observation Instrument to Measure Reading Engagement During Independent Reading Time” at the American Reading Forum in Sanibel, Fla., in December. Hall, Williams and Abendroth were also accepted to present “Measuring Student Engagement During Independent Reading Time” at the Florida Reading Association in Orlando this month.

Foundations and Secondary Education: Dr. Richard Chant published an article titled “Developing Involved and Active Citizens: The Role of Personal Theorizing and Action Research in a Standards-Based Social Studies Classroom” in Teacher Education Quarterly. This was a special social studies edition of the journal focused on teaching for democracy.

Good Question

Q: From Kathy Westberry (events planning associate, Admissions) – Many campus organizations used the 1600 Rooms (Building 14) for various student events and staff events. Now that the large space in the 1600 Rooms is gone, are there plans for another space down at that end of campus to accommodate events on the Green that might be rained out?

A: From Joann Campbell (associate vice president, Academic Affairs) – The 1600 Rooms are being renovated as classrooms, labs and a new TV studio for the Department of Communication. There are no alternative spaces at that end of campus to accommodate rainouts for events on the Green, except for the 1700 Room. The Student Union is available for such purposes. Also, the only other alternative to holding the outside events on the Green that I am aware of is the Student Union amphitheater.

Q: From Sarah Dufresne (assistant director of special events, Public Relations) – I would like to know why they put the new lamppost bases on campus so close to the road?

A: From John Hale (assistant director, Physical Facilities) – The new pole bases have very deep foundations. Existing underground utilities (water, electric, sewer, telephone) necessitated moving the pole bases to avoid damaging these services. Also, the existing street lights have to remain in service during the project so we don’t have the option of putting the new bases in the same location as the old. Where the new bases conflict with existing sidewalks; the sidewalks will be re-aligned.

Q: From Amy Pierce (director of development, Coggin College of Business) – Last year there was an eel in the aquarium outside of the President’s Office. It is no longer there, and I wonder what happened to it?

A: From Tom Bartlett (laboratory assistant, Biology Department) – It’s nice to know people observe the tank. I am president of the Marine Biology Club and maintain the fish tank outside the President’s Office. The eel simply had to be removed so we could expand the diversity of fish in the tank. The eel is being kept in a holding tank with his old buddy the clown fish, which was also removed. The eel and the clown fish had grown so much larger that new fish added to the tank were viewed as gourmet meals. Their new tank will be coming soon to the area outside the Student Government offices.